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  • Mythology in 19th Century Decorative Arts

      Against the white-painted wainscoting stood eight mahogany chairs. An old piano supported, beneath a barometer, a pyramidal pile of boxes and cartons. Two...

  • French silverware in the 19th century

    From 1820 to 1890, French goldsmithing was characterized by eclecticism and a taste for the most varied styles. From the rigor of neoclassicism...

  • Mercier Frères Transition Style Commode

    The Transition style: historical landmarks. The Transition style covers the period from 1750 to 1774 and refers to the stylistic evolution that, in the second half...

  • The Napoleon III style (1852-1870)

    A period of decadence, the Second Empire (1852-1870) sought to impose prestige through pomp, festivities, and luxury, in contrast to the bourgeois reign of the discreet Louis-Philippe...

  • The French clock

    From the late 18th century onwards, artists rose up against classical rigidity and the cult of ideal beauty, expressing their preference...

  • Empire style ornamentation

    The Empire style, a style of propaganda. At the end of the 18th century, Ancient Rome was celebrated both for its political grandeur and for what the...

  • Rocaille, the story of an ornament

      The rocaille style, often mentioned in contrast to classical ornamentation, appeared in Baroque Europe and developed until...

  • Art Deco, the modernity of the Roaring Twenties

    Who hasn't dreamed of having a drink in a sublime Art Deco setting, as if they were living in The Great Gatsby? Often considered the epitome of aesthetics...

  • Jacob Petit and Paris porcelain

    In the 1830s, while Parisian decorators and porcelain manufacturers provided designs that perpetuated the neoclassical vocabulary, Jacob Petit (1796-1868 ...

  • The console: History and specific features

    A console table is a tall piece of furniture resembling a half-table placed against a wall. Its original four legs are often reduced to two, and it can be transformed...

  • Atena and her collection of Romantic-era art

    "Romantic Paris, 1815-1848": The Petit Palais's landmark exhibition. From May 22 to September 15, 2019, the Petit Palais presents "Romantic Paris," an exhibition...

  • The Bargueño, a 17th-century Spanish cabinet

    A bargueño is a type of Spanish writing cabinet ("escritorio") that appeared at the beginning of the 15th century. However, the term was not created...

  • The Empire style (1804-1815)

    The Empire style developed under the impetus of Emperor Napoleon I (1769-1821), who reigned from 1804 to 1815. The first stirrings of the style can be found...

  • The Louis XVI style (1774-1790)

    After the period of experimentation with the Transition style (1765-1775), the Louis XVI style emerged in the early 1770s as the elegant expression...

  • Edition Bronzes in 19th Century France

      Edition bronzes: a social phenomenon. Small sculptures or edition bronzes are a surprising phenomenon...

  • The Restoration style (1815-1830)

    After Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo on June 18, 1815, power in France was taken over by Louis XVI's two brothers: the Count of Provence, who ruled...

  • Large format paintings in our collections

    Large Format and History Painting: In the 19th century, painters interpreted everything related to their own time and earlier periods on large canvases...

  • The History of Porcelain Biscuit

    Attention, sweet tooths! The biscuit we're about to talk about will make your teeth ache. Bust, peasant, prom queen, or centerpiece, they're immaculately white to...

  • The mirror, an iconic decorative object

    The history of the first mirrors dates back to around 6000 BC. The oldest examples are made of polished stone, then polished metal, copper...

  • The Louis-Philippe style (1830-1848)

    Beginning at the end of the Restoration (1830), the reign of Louis-Philippe continued until the Revolution of 1848 when the Parisian revolts...

  • The Transition style (1765-1775)

    The term Transition refers to the stylistic evolution which, in the second half of Louis XV's reign and at the very beginning of Louis XVI's reign, is characterized by...

  • The Directoire style (1789-1804)

    The term "Directory" refers to a historical period following the French Revolution (1789) and the National Convention (1792-1795), but also to...